FIFA plans to release a limited digital collection this weekend. In the first batch, they will launch 100 different NFTs, in which owners of the rarest NFTs will have the chance to receive 2026 FIFA World Cup final tickets. A total of about 900 NFTs will be issued on the Polygon blockchain and listed on the OpenSea NFT exchange.
FIFA’s NFT collection was initially launched on Algorand but the team is planning to switch to Polygon for phase 2 of the new collection. Future collections will also be released on this layer-2, the announcement said.
FIFA first introduced “FIFA + Collect” last year, which was advertised to give global soccer fans the opportunity to own unique digital art at an affordable price. The new collection was revealed ahead of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup which will kick off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 13 to December 22, 2023.
According to the announcement, Modex will take over the strategic management of the NFT collection platform. “NFT collections are increasing the ways fans interact with their favorite players, teams and games, and we are honored to support FIFA in achieving this goal”, Modex CEO Francesco Abbate said.
Although the NFT segment has started to rebounce recently, it has yet to recover the hype it once had, when a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT could sell for up to millions of dollars. However, big players still welcome this wave and choose it as a communication channel with their fans.
Besides FIFA, there were many other names in the crypto field that connect with customers through sports, for example OKX – which has expanded its partnership with Manchester City or French sports game company Sorare has a partnership with the English Premier League.